When he was struggling at the plate during the first two months of the season, Rangers slugger J.P. Arencibia was beating himself mentally. He’d do it at home, on the drive to the ballpark, and in the clubhouse after each game.

Finally, he was sent to Round Rock on May 20 and spent nearly two months correcting his swing. The fixes, however, were more mental than mechanical.

“Mentally, I was so hard on myself I was in my own way,” said Arencibia, who has nine of the Rangers’ 30 RBIs since rejoining the team after the All-Star break. “As hard as [hitting] is, you’ve got to enjoy it and have fun and not worry about the bad things that can happen.”

At the time of his demotion, Arencibia wasn’t thrilled, of course, but the move was good for him.

“Even though my numbers weren’t good, I was still hitting the ball hard every night. I had good at-bats,” he said of his .133 average before being sent down. “But it was necessary, after the fact. It was something I needed.”